Preparation of well-defined dendrimer encapsulated ruthenium nanoparticles and their application as catalyst and enhancement of activity when utilised as SCILL catalysts in the hydrogenation of citral

• Ru dendrimer encapsulated nanoparticles versatile in selective hydrogenations
• High selectivity towards citronellal in citral hydrogenation
• Enhanced catalytic activity with the use of [BMIM][NTf2] ionic liquid

Silica supported dendrimer encapsulated ruthenium nanoparticles were prepared and evaluated as catalysts in the hydrogenation of citral. The dendrimer encapsulated nanoparticles were prepared using the generation 4 (G4), generation 5 (G5) and generation 6 (G6) hydroxyl-terminated poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM-OH) dendrimers as templating agents with different Ru metal:dendrimer ratios. The effects of ionic liquids as catalyst coatings on the catalytic activity were investigated for the ionic liquids [BMIM][NTf2], [OMIM][NTf2], [BMIM][BF4], [BMIM][PF6], [EMIM][OcS] and [EMIM][EtS]. An enhancement in catalytic activity was observed when utilising [BMIM][NTf2] as an ionic liquid coating with selectivity towards citronellal.

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